JOB VACANCIES In original terms, South Australia's total number of job vacancies increased to about 9,400 in November 2006 from 9,000 in August 2006. The November 2006 vacancies were 8% higher than in November 2005.

EMPLOYED PERSONS
In trend terms, total employment in South Australia fell by 0.4% from a record high of about 759,200 persons in November 2006 to 756,300 persons in February 2007. Total employment in Australia, however, recorded a series high of about 10,350,400 persons in February 2007.

UNEMPLOYMENT The trend estimate of the unemployment rate for South Australia rose in February 2007 to 5.6% after reaching a low of 4.8% in August 2006. Australia's unemployment rate remained steady at 4.6% for the four months to February 2007.

For South Australia, the trend unemployment rate for females has remained steady at 5.1% since September 2006, after reaching a low of 4.3% in September 2005. In contrast, the unemployment rate for males has risen in from 4.7% in September 2006 to 6.0% in February 2007.

PARTICIPATION RATE The trend estimate of the participation rate for South Australia fell slightly in February 2007 to 62.7% from 62.8%. South Australia's participation rate has remained at 62.0% or above since December 2005. In the ten year period from February 1997, the lowest estimate was 59.7% in May and June of 1998. Australia's trend participation rate remained steady at 64.8% for the four months to February 2007. The lowest participation rate reported for Australia was 62.8% in April and May of 1999; for May and June 1998 the Australian participation rates were estimated at 63.2% and 63.3% respectively.

For South Australia, the trend participation rate for females has remained above 56.0% since September 2006. The high point was 56.7% in December 2006, falling slightly to 56.6% in January 2007, and 56.5% in February 2007. Nationally the female participation rate has remained at 57.6% since October 2006. The participation rate for South Australian males has been steady at 69.0% or more since December 2002, reaching 69.9% in May and June of 2003 and falling to 69.1% in February 2007. The Australian participation rate for males has been consistently higher than that for South Australia, and was 72.3% in February 2007.